Hello Again To `Sayonara' -- Michener Tale Of Interracial Romance Resurrected As Musical

Can "Sayonara" strike gold three times?

The 5th Avenue Musical Theatre Company and its sister outfit, Houston's Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), have $1.4 million invested in that question. And 5th Avenue-TUTS director Frank M. Young cautiously predicts this old-fashioned "book" musical might be just what the public craves.

"Sayonara" premiered in Houston earlier this month to warm notices and brisk ticket sales. It opens at the 5th Avenue Thursday and runs through June 13. (For tickets, call 292-ARTS.)

Young won't guess whether "Sayonara" is Broadway-bound, though producers are sniffing it out. "That's not our concern right now," he maintains. "But I do think people want the old-formula musical back. They're tired of watching the scenery. We don't know if this show is right for a high-tech market like New York. But it could be perfect for the rest of the country."

One thing "Sayonara" has going for it is familiarity.

People remember "Sayonara" the 1952 novel, by pop-fiction king James A. Michener. Set in Japan during the Korean War, it traces the romances of several U.S. soldiers with Japanese women, in an era of racial intolerance.

Michener, 86 and still penning bestsellers, said from his Texas home that the book remains a favorite among his 40-plus titles.

The theme of miscegenation hits close to home: "I'm married to a Japanese-American lady," he noted. "When we wed in 1954, our marriage was illegal in 11 states - including Oregon, Washington and California. There were endless court cases and it took years to get those laws erased."

To Michener, "Sayonara" is "a very good story of men and women at war. It touched on universal themes."

The book sold modestly at first, but sales surged in 1957 when Hollywood released "Sayonara" the movie, starring popular Marlon Brando. Shot on location, the Technicolor epic doubled as lavish Japanese travelogue and weeper love saga.

Though nominated for a best-movie Oscar, the film had a cop-out ending: Airman Ace Gruver (Brando) defied convention to marry Hana-ogi (Miichi Taka), a glamorous Japanese dancer.

Michener notes, "In my book, Hana-ogi decides not to run off with this American soldier. She is tied to her work as a star of the Takarazuka Theatre, and doesn't want to lose her very dramatic, delightful Japanese way of life.

"But we faced a difficult problem with the movie. We desperately wanted Marlon as the hero. And he insisted, for personal reasons, that the movie end with him marrying the Japanese girl."

Maybe Brando's own history of interracial relationships had something to do with it.

Whatever the case, the 5th Avenue's "Sayonara" - with book by William ("Belle of Amherst") Luce, music by George Fischoff and lyrics by Hy Gilbert - restores Michener's finale and other aspects of his tale.

With its theatrical milieu and picaresque setting, "Sayonara" seemed a natural for musical treatment - as was Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific," which became "South Pacific." But it took 30 years and change for this transfer to happen.

Director Phil McKinley started the ball rolling six years ago at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. "We unearthed `Sayonara' from a pile of 300 scripts. I felt it had incredible potential."

McKinley staged the first draft of the Luce-Fischoff-Gilbert show at Paper Mill in 1987 to decent response. So what happened next? "It needed more development. Everyone was excited about it, but we just lost steam."

Young said Michener instigated the new production. The novelist's wife had seen the Paper Mill show, and liked it. When TUTS initiated a musical theater program at the University of Texas, where Michener is a professor emeritus, the novelist proposed a revival of "Sayonara."

Young agreed, and the original creators signed on. Musical numbers were added, 500 costumes sewn (many are hand-painted kimonos) and the script got an overhaul. "Bill Luce and I went back to the novel and tried to tell the story more through the eyes of Ace Gruver," said McKinley. "Ace starts out as a bigot and male chauvinist. Then he meets a woman from a totally different background, and it opens his horizons."

McKinley averted a "Miss Saigon" flap by casting actors of Asian heritage in all the show's Japanese roles: "For Hana-ogi, we needed someone who could be a showgirl, but also shy, demure. She has to sing coloratura, and belt, too."

Sala Iwamatsu, daughter of prominent Japanese-American actor Mako, won the part. Others in the ensemble hail from Japan, including two actresses who actually worked at Tokyo's Takarazuka Theatre.

The authors revised the piece throughout the Houston run and will tinker with it in Seattle, too.

But Michael Eisner of Disney Studios has caught "Sayonara" in Houston, and theater producers from as far away as England and Australia also are interested.

One viewer convinced of "Sayonara's" promise is Michener. "It's marvelous," he said, after attending opening night in Houston. "It's a real musical."